The
biennial Asia Pacific Lung Cancer Conference (APLCC 2016), organized by
the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC),
will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 13-15 May 2016.

Lung
cancer experts from several countries in the Asian-Pacific region with a
wide range of expertise spanning prevention, treatment, research, and
care and support fields will participate and be joined by noted lung
cancer experts from around the world.

In
addition to the IASLC, this regional lung cancer is organized under the
aegis of the Thai Society of Clinical Oncology (TSCO), Chiang Mai Lung
Cancer Group, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University (CMU) and the
APLCC 2016 local organizing committee.

APLCC 2016 is the seventh regional biennial lung cancer conference and it is returning to Chiang Mai after 12 years.

“This
conference will provide an opportunity to a broad range of lung cancer
experts to learn, share and deliberate on the latest advances from the
frontiers of clinical and basic researches, practical clinical
management, immunotherapy and multidisciplinary care from Western and
Asia-Pacific faculties. In addition to scientific sessions, there are
sessions on related and compelling public health aspects such as tobacco
control as well at APLCC 2016,” said Professor Sumitra Thongprasert,
MD, Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Chiang Mai
University and Chair of APLCC 2016.

Lung
cancer is the most common cancer in the world. In Southeast Asia and
China every year, there are approximately 800,000 new lung cancer cases
and 750,000 lung cancer-related deaths.

• In India, 70,275 new cases of lung cancer occur every year and annual deaths hover at 63,759.

• In Thailand in 2012, there were 19,505 new cases of lung cancer with 17,669 deaths.

“Undoubtedly
lung cancer is a significant cause of loss of quality of life and
premature deaths. Despite scientific advancements in lung cancer
management, outcomes are very poor with less than 5 percent five-year
survival,” Dr. Thongprasert said.

According
to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco
smoking is the top risk factor for lung cancer, with 90 percent of cases
attributed to tobacco use. People who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30
times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people
who do not smoke. A U.S. Surgeon General’s Report in 2014 stated that
women smokers were 25.7 times more likely than women who never smoked to
develop lung cancer – for male smokers, it was 25 times the risk of men
who never smoked. Smoke from other people’s cigarettes, pipes, or
cigars (secondhand smoke) also causes lung cancer. Quitting smoking at
any age can lower the risk of lung cancer.

Not
surprisingly tobacco use is very high in the Asian-Pacific region, as
it accounts for over one-third of the world’s tobacco use. This region
is home to 25 percent of the world’s smokers and 90 percent of the
world’s smokeless tobacco users, about 246 million and 290 million
people respectively. Tobacco causes 1.3 million deaths in the region
every year, with 150 deaths occurring every hour in Southeast Asia
alone.

“Lung
cancer is the most preventable form of cancer death in the world. APLCC
2016 features tobacco control sessions prominently on the scientific
agenda. Preventing lung cancer is a top public health imperative,” Dr.
Thongprasert said.

Recognizing
tobacco as the major and common risk factor for range of
life-threatening diseases including lung cancer Health Ministers from 11
countries in the region signed the Dili Declaration in September 2015,
pledging to accelerate hard-hitting measures to reduce tobacco use.
Implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)
in countries in the Asian-Pacific region and strengthening
implementation of domestic tobacco control laws can also help save lives
from lung cancer as well as other deadly diseases attributed to tobacco
use.

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